◾ ...but some of us are looking at the stars

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Rock me, Amadeus (Or how Mozart and heavy metal fans have more in common than they'd like to admit)

Fans of Mozart and other classical composers were found to be innovative and self-confident ... just like followers of heavy metal bands such as Kiss, despite the age difference

Published Date: 05 September 2008

By Tim Cornwell

Arts Correspondent

FANS of heavy metal music are usually portrayed as long-haired students playing air guitar in their grubby rooms. Classical music lovers, by contrast, are stereotyped as serious, grey-haired and overwhelmingly middle-class.

But these apparent opposites have more in common than people might imagine, according to a study yesterday.

Researchers found fans of Motorhead shared "virtually identical" personality traits with Mozart lovers, both being unusually creative and introverted.

As part of a study into the link between people's musical tastes and their personalities, psychologists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh asked more than 36,000 people worldwide to rate 104 musical styles and questioned them on aspects of their personality.

While indie music listeners tended to lack self-esteem, pop music fans were largely uncreative, he said. People into country and western were hard-working, rap fans were outgoing, and lovers of jazz and classical music were innovative and bursting with self-confidence.

Most surprisingly, he said: "I was struck by how similar fans of heavy metal and classical music really are. Apart from the age differences, they were virtually identical.

"Both were more creative than other people, both were not terribly outgoing and they were also quite at ease with themselves."

But Susan Nickalls, a classical music reviewer for The Scotsman, poured scorn on his theory. "What do you do if you like hip-hop, jazz, classical and rock – does that mean you are schizophrenic?" she asked. "How can you say that everyone who goes to an opera is creative? This guy should research something serious.

"I like heavy metal and I like classical and I like opera. I like Whitesnake, and my favourite operas include Tosca. When the heroine throws herself off the battlements, heavy metal people might say that's the equivalent of bashing your guitar on stage."

Fiona Shepherd, The Scotsman's rock music critic, said it would be good if the survey contributed to the rehabilitation of the heavy metal music fan, to give a more "rounded and surprising picture".

Prof North suggested fans of jazz and soul had the "best" character traits, including high self-esteem and an outgoing nature. He went on: "People often define their sense of identity through their musical taste, wearing particular clothes, going to certain pubs, and using certain types of slang. It's not so surprising that personality should also be related to musical preference."

Some 36,518 people from countries as far afield as Malaysia, China, Japan and Chile were asked to rate musical styles ranging from chart pop to Bollywood music and opera as part of the Heriot-Watt study.

Huzzah for mass generalisations. Since I fit into both camps of Metal fan and Classical fan, then I suppose I'm the exact double of myself. Or something. I've been listening a bit of Dresden Dolls lately. I was completely surprised at what they actually sound like. In my head, I'd written them off as a rubbish ear-bleeding Murderdolls-a-like or something similarly awful. Not the case. Punk caberet they call it, all piano, experimental sounds and word play lyrics. Very enjoyable.

I'll be posting later more on a fic auction I'm taking part in (just need to send the app away) and perhaps my thoughts on what I've seen on the Rep/Dem conventions (I'm going to steer right past my sudden attraction to Chelsea Clinton. Maybe.)

But for now, I was left with this bizarre thought as I washed this morning. With my black pj T shirt pulled over my head but still hanging on there at the crown of my head, I was hit with a sudden realisation : I'd look no too bad in a habit.

Anyone else had similar thoughts? Surely we all did something similar as kids? No? Just me?

I'm giving you ample forewarning that this entry will be a veritable collation of crap. When I decide what I'm writing. I suppose I'll start with the news.

RIP George Carlin. I'm too young to have known most of his work, but I very much enjoyed his roles in Kevin Smith movies. Good long life though.

Megan Mullally baffled by nude demand before 50. Am I the only perv in the room who wouldn't mind seeing this come to pass? Probably. My misguided friend and I wanted to emulate Karen during first year of uni, until we realised that neither of us takes prescription drugs and I simply can't drink spirits continually without passing out at some point. As a poor back up, she went as Karen for hallowe'en and I went as Oz as God for the third year running and laughed in a silly high voice.

My £3 bet on Spain to win the European Championships is still safe, as we narrowly edged Italy out the other night. Now the stakes are higher ('How can they be higher than the princely sum of three pounds?' I hear you ask.) Claire, who has just threw her hat in the ring for Germany (late comers, pfft) and I have agreed to a forfeit dare should the others team win. We haven't decided the forfeit yet - suggestions?

I've been listening to a lot of Cher lately (pre '94 Cher, certainly not Believe era Cher) which can only mean I'm contemplating life's most serious issues. Seriously. Something about grandiose rock operatic ballads causes great contemplation. Also, found a random Smithereens song, Blood and Roses on my playlist (presumably from Romy and Michelle) and downloaded more. However anytime I listen to this catchy 80's pop rock it's steathily followed by The Smiths which is making me want to gouge my eyes out when I realise. Not because I hate them, but if I'm not in the mood for The Smiths it makes me feel like going Oedipus then crying in a dark, damp corner with a newspaper over my head. I don't know why. The sensible solution is to either delete The Smiths or play russian roulette by putting winamp on random.

I succumbed to Doctor Who and have started from the beginning of the new incarnation. Thoughts of 'God, this is well naff' turned to feelings of unbridled amusement and joy. I don't quite think an addiction of epic scale has begun, but I'm certainly enjoying it.

Jesus. I thought I had more to say than this assortment of skittle-type fruityness. Apparently not

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random. Step 2: Post a line bit from the first 30 10 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song. (To be lazy and make it easier) Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess which song and artist the lines come from. Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly

I would say this is indicative of the crap that's on my winamp, but not necessarily my taste. I don't expect anyone to participate. This is because I'm restless, tired and bored.

1.That I can hardly wait / To hold you / Enfold you / Never enough / Render your heart to me

2.It's a new dawn / It's a new day / It's a new life / For me..Muse - Feelin' Good - belladancerela

3. We're gift-wrapped kitty cats / We're only turning into tigers when we gotta fight back / Let's go, Eskimo / Out into the blue

4. Like twisted vines that grow / That hide and swallow mansions whole / And dim the light of an already / Faded prima donna

5. We're losing control, will you turn me away/ Or touch me deep inside? / And if all this gets old, will it still feel the same? / There's no way this will die

6. No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue / I could not foresee this thing happening to you / If I look hard enough into the setting sun / My love will laugh with me before the morning comes

7. I thought I'd drown myself in you / Well I shook the honey glaze from my head / and I realised, yeah i realised / I'd do anything for you

8. He's become a a one-man rise in crime / I'd blame parents except he hasn't got 'em / Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat / Tell you all about it when I got the time

9. Sitting alone in the dark of a stadium / He whispers his secrets into a cheap guitar / With the flick of his wrist he turns words into melodies / Chords into church bells, fill up the allies / Lovers intwine in the heat of the night / And by dawn are apart in the shivering silences

10. I had a vision I could turn you right / a stupid mission and a lethal fight / I should have seen it when my hope was new / my heart is black and my body is blue